Belfast holds its breath: Major events scheduled over weekend after nights of violence, including Farmers Bash and Josh Baker at Belsonic, while anti-racism protest planned for Saturday afternoon
Northern Ireland’s capital city has been biting its nails, hoping for a peaceful weekend with major events scheduled after nights of violent clashes.
Friday and Saturday see the opening of this year’s Belsonic festival in Ormeau Park; straddling the boundary of east and south Belfast, up to 20,000 people each night will be hoping to go wild to the sounds of country and folk shindig Farmers Bash and house DJ and performer Josh Baker respectively.
The stage is already set for the massive event, which continues on successive weekends for the rest of June – and although organisers haven’t issued an official statement on the unrest that has gripped Belfast this week, forcing the cancellation of several events, indications early on Friday afternoon were that the festival would kick off as planned.
Translink has said it intends to run buses and trains as normal, including event travel to Belsonic.
At the Waterfront Hall, Friday night is to see a Shrek-themed performance by Starburst Theatre School, a youth organisation running in Lisburn, Antrim and Co Down, while Saturday sees a tribute show to pop legend Tina Turner. Both are still scheduled to take place.
Mid-week, many notable venues shut up shop by early evening due to fears of trouble. One of them, the Belfast Empire, is this weekend to stage a jazz tribute to Louis Armstrong and Frank Sinatra, as well as a 1990s tribute band.
Both events are listed to go ahead as normal, as are a series of smaller-scale shows from local bands and DJs in venues and clubs around the city – but all them will no doubt be nervously waiting to see whether much of a crowd comes through their doors.
On Saturday afternoon, there are potential flashpoints as anti-racist campaigners are to hold protests in the centres of Belfast and Londonderry – which could see hefty counter-demonstrations.
The protests are organised by branches of United Against Racism, which describes itself as a grassroots all-Ireland organisation combating all forms of racism and the “scapegoating of migrants and minorities”. It also calls for “opening the borders to refugees” as well as “the normalisation of all undocumented migrant workers in Ireland”.
Belfast’s protest is to take place at 1pm in front of city hall; the one in Londonderry is at 2pm in Guildhall Square. Branded “together against hate”, the protests are predicted to draw large crowds.
Saturday’s protests have been backed by public sector union NIPSA, which has called for “working class unity against the racists”.
In east Belfast, Saturday night sees a large annual loyalist memorial parade. Lasting two and a half hours, its 25 bands and 1,000 supporters move from Newtownards Road to finish near Woodstock Road.
The PSNI has promised an “increased presence” in Belfast city centre, the force’s Chief Superintendent Amanda Ford encouraging people to keep “shopping, dining and attending events”.